Wistful. Sweet. Honest. Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between is the latest young adult romance from Jennifer E. Smith. The book’s timeframe is a single night before Clare and Aiden head to college on different coasts. Of all of Ms. Smith’s books, this novel is probably the most plausible, and the roller-coaster emotions of the characters feel particularly authentic; the angst of beginnings and endings muddled together is deftly captured. Life isn’t always clear and often feels like a see-saw and Ms. Smith illustrates the conundrum aptly. This is a book that high school seniors will particularly connect with.
If you adore contemporary young adult romance, than Jennifer E. Smith should definitely be on your go-to list. If you are just discovering Ms. Smith, one of her best is The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight.
Review of a Digital Advance Reader’s Copy
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Poppy
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 4 religious exclamations; 3 mild obscenities; 1 derogatory name; 8 scataological words.
Violence/Gore: There is a fist fight resulting in injuries to the parties involved and to those who try to intervene; brief description of bandaging/treating injuries sustained in the fight.
Sex/Nudity: Teenage characters kiss upon several separate occasions; teenage characters hold hands; teenage characters touch face(s); teenagers hug; teenagers reminisce about kissing; reference to couples making out in the corner; brief, non-detailed recollection about an incident in which it is inferred/implied/understood that teenagers in high school had sex (but never actually explicitly said); teenagers lie on couch together and scene ends with strongly implication that they will have sex (no details).
Mature Subject Matter:
Relationships, teenage-parental conflict.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Characters joke with one another about going to bars when they are in college; there is a party where teenagers are drinking; teenager is drunk and picked up by the police after passing out; teenagers briefly reminisce about stealing cigars from a parent and smoking them.
